Someone To Watch Over Me (24 page)

Shawn’s going to be okay
. She wrapped
her arms across her body and rubbed them with her palms. My God,
there'd had been so much blood. She feared he might have bled to
death before the paramedics and the ambulance arrived. As if her
body were reliving the ordeal, an adrenaline jolt coursed through
her. Jumpy, she stood up and ambled over to the window to look at
the twinkling lights on the horizon as the sky lightened to a dusky
purple.

What would happen next? Morgan bit her lip
and took a deep breath. The past few days had been a nightmare and
the only thing that had made it bearable, no, survivable, had been
Shawn. Would their budding relationship survive this?

She exhaled slowly. Life came with no
guarantees. She understood that now. Strange how an event triggers
many others, like threads woven in fabric.

Samuel died accidentally. Her family’s
passion to make his death serve good gave birth to a fundraiser,
which had bloomed beyond everyone’s expectations. Morgan swallowed
and her lip trembled when she remembered how she placed her dreams
of becoming a jewelry designer on the back shelf to run things
after her father’s heart attack. Then her break-up with Brad, the
stalker, and now the arrival of a man who showed her again how
fragile and vulnerable life can be.

Morgan dropped her arms and stretched as she
slowly rolled her neck from side to side. Things would have to
change from this point forward. She'd continue managing the
fundraiser, but her father must hire someone to manage the store so
that she could focus on her jewelry designing. Brad? He'd moved on
and now she would too. The mountains in the distance were outlined
in an aura of sunlight and the horizon took on an orange glow.

“Miss Kennedy?”

Morgan turned to the nurse who had walked up
behind her. “Yes?”

“They're moving him. Come to the counter.
I'll give you his room number and directions on how to get
there.”

“Thank you.”

Morgan arrived just after they moved him from
the gurney to the bed. She walked over and touched his arm. Shawn
rolled his head over and smiled when he saw her. “I'm fine,” he
murmured before his eyes closed. His voice had a fuzzy, sleepy
quality about it. The nurse came in and adjusted the IV. “He's
going to be out for a few more hours. You won't be missing much if
you want to go home.”

“Can I stay?” She pointed to the recliner on
the side of the bed. “I won't be in anyone's way. Please.”

The nurse evaluated her and commented, “I
think you better sit before you fall down. Let me get you a
blanket.”

***

Shawn thought he heard Jerry Springer. His
closed eyes registered a dim light and he slowly opened them to a
TV and yes, the Jerry Springer Show was on. He stared at the screen
as a cheating husband went public about his infidelity to a
shocked, angry wife and in front of the whole world. The studio
audience jeered him, cheered his wife, and geared up for a smack
down between the wife and lover. Shawn began to fumble for the
remote. He’d had enough of smack downs for a while. Anything, even
Dr. Phil, would be preferable to this.

Shawn rolled his head to the side and found
Morgan sprawled on the recliner fast asleep. Reaching over, he
touched her hand that spilled over the armrest and her eyes sprang
open.

“Hi,” he whispered.

Morgan kicked the blanket back, climbed out
of the chair, and stood at the side of his bed. “Welcome back.”

She caressed his arm carefully to avoid where
the IV needle was taped down. “How do you feel?”

“Not bad. What happened after I left?”

Morgan smiled. “Frank Kaufman is in custody,
and Sabrina's in the hospital for observation. Don't worry. Just
rest and focus on recovering.”

“Good,” Shawn said.

“It's more than good,” a low masculine voice
responded. Shawn glanced over to where Matt stood at the door.
“Frank's been charged with stalking, assault, attempted murder, not
to mention the obvious probation violation issue. I think I can
safely predict when he gets arraigned he won't be able to make
bail.”

“You never know the kinds of deals that can
be struck when the lawyers get involved,” Shawn replied.

“No negotiated deals this time,” Matt
replied. “I had an off-the-record conversation and found out Brad’s
firm handled Frank's case the last time. This time, there'll be no
plea bargain.”

Shawn cursed. “Brad knew.”

Matt shrugged. “Maybe, even if he did, Brad
couldn't say anything about it: attorney/client privilege.”

Shawn began to fidget in bed. “His silence
could have gotten us killed.”

Morgan gently laid her hand on his shoulder
and interrupted, “Shawn, relax and don't move your leg around. You
could make things worse.”

Shawn took a deep breath, “I'll deal with him
later.”

“Later is good,” Morgan replied. Her voice
held an amused quality to it as if a small laugh simmered below the
surface.

The doctor came in the room. “Mr. Randall,
your surgery went well, and your vitals are good. I'd like to keep
you a couple more days and then we'll release you to go home. I
want you to keep the leg elevated for the next few days, and you'll
be on crutches for a while. Do you have support at home for a few
days?”

Shawn paused. Morgan would be exiting his
life. She didn't need him anymore. “No, but I can…”

“He's coming home to stay with me,” Morgan
said.

Shawn rolled his head to stare at her. “You
don't have to…” but he never had a chance to finish his sentence.
Morgan leaned over and planted a kiss on him.

She pulled back and gently caressed his face,
“I won't take no for an answer.”

Shawn slid his hand up to her face and pulled
her down for another kiss. Only after hearing Matt clearing his
throat did the couple stop and look at him.

“Well, I’m glad that's settled,” Matt
drawled.

***

Two weeks later –

Morgan pretended to ignore Shawn as he
bounced his uninjured leg on the ball of his foot. She smiled. Emma
arrived today, and he was as excited as a child on Christmas
morning waiting to open his presents.

Upon his discharge from the hospital, Morgan
moved Shawn into her guest bedroom, spent the next few days caring
for him and sketching designs on her dining room table. Within a
week, she was back at the store, wrapping up the final details from
the fundraiser.

Even Shawn returned to the office for a few
hours each day and worked on paperwork. Now he’d started putting
weight on the leg for short periods of time and moved about
reasonably well, even abandoning the crutches for short periods.
When at home they talked and planned for Emma's arrival.

As Morgan pulled off the fifty-one parkway’s
exit ramp into Sky Harbor airport, she took a deep breath and
exhaled. Her stomach fluttered. A few days back, she had spoken to
Emma for the first time on the phone. She seemed a sweet child, but
still a part of her wasn’t certain what she would encounter
today.

“I'll drop you off at the arrival side of the
terminal and park the car. Do you want to wait for me at the ticket
counter or should I meet you at the security gate?”

“I’ll wait for you at the ticket counter.”
Shawn said.

“You’ve got it.”

Within minutes she pulled up on the north
side of terminal four and waited as he slid out and pulled out his
crutches. Morgan smiled as he made his way through the sliding
glass doors to the terminal. The cool no-nonsense man she met a few
weeks ago was the complete opposite of the loving engaged man in
her life now.

She found him in front of the ticket counter
leaning on his crutches. “The plane's on time. Joan, her au pair,
will be with her when Emma gets off the plane, but she’ll take a
return flight within a couple hours once she drops Emma off.”

Morgan nodded. “Ready?”

Shawn flashed a grin. “Yeah.”

The couple walked to the elevators. Then made
their way to the security gates and waited as wave after wave of
passengers filed past them. Morgan scoured the crowds wondering how
different Emma might look from the photos in Shawn’s office.

“There.” Shawn pointed to a middle-aged woman
and a young girl dressed in jeans and a light pink top.

“There's my girl.” His voice radiated with
pride and affection.

Morgan studied the young girl. It wasn't hard
to miss the resemblance. In addition to her father's crystal blue
eyes she had his crooked grin and when it broke into a full smile
it showcased a missing front tooth.

Emma spied him and dashed the remaining few
yards into her father's open arms. As she neared him, he dropped
his crutches and bent down to scoop her up.

Morgan stood back, giving the pair their
space.

“Mommy said you were hurt,” Emma said.

“I'm okay now,” Shawn replied. He turned to
Morgan as he set his daughter down on her feet. Morgan took a
shallow breath and held it.
What had Christy said about
her?

“Emma, I'd like you to meet someone very
special. This is Morgan.”

Morgan flashed a smile despite her
uncertainty and extended her hand, “Hi Emma. I'm so glad to meet
you.”

The child broke into the grin Morgan loved to
see in her father. Then, without a word, she ran over and gave
Morgan a big hug.

***

Thank you for reading Someone to Watch Over
Me. I hope you enjoyed this book and would be interested in helping
other readers find out about it through one of the following
methods:

Please feel free to share it with a friend if
the version you’ve purchased is lending enabled.

Recommend it to friends and fellow
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you.

If you do write a review, please send me an
email at
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.
I’ll gift you a digital copy of the next book as a way of thanking
you.

***

Playing with Fire

By Taylor Michaels

When Stella Adams leaves her family’s
construction business, her decision angers her father and alienates
her from the rest of her family. Determined to prove her family
wrong about her ability to successfully remodel and sell homes, she
prepares to go it alone. When Matt Anderson arrives on the
construction site, she knows the only possible reason for his
appearance is that her father sent him.

Matt Anderson disappeared from college one
night ten years ago and started a whole new life. Estranged from
his family, he fiercely guards the reason why he left. Now a
successful wealthy businessman, he’s comfortable keeping the world
at arm’s length. When Stella’s father approaches Matt about getting
Stella to hire his firm for construction site security, he finds
himself drawn into a family battle where he’s an unlikely
peacemaker.

After Matt discovers a rash of house fires in
the area and a string of construction site accidents, he must
convince Stella that she genuinely needs his company’s services.
But there’s a bigger problem, he’s falling for the strong-willed
home remodeler. How can he reconcile Stella with her family when he
can’t find the courage to go home himself?

***